Extract from Doug Austin’s article “The Most Famous eDiscovery Case Ever is a Financial Services Case”
There’s a case that is ubiquitous within eDiscovery circles. Its presence is everywhere when you look at eDiscovery solutions. Many people think of it as an energy industry case, but it’s actually a financial services case – one that helped inspire a new Federal law that enacted a comprehensive reform of business financial practices. It’s the literal “poster child” litigation case to illustrate what features an eDiscovery solution should provide.
Can you guess the case? You probably can, but if you can’t, read on and I’ll identify it at the end.
Financial Services is a Highly Regulated Industry
This probably comes as no surprise, but the financial services industry is probably the most regulated industry by far. Many of the regulatory agencies and laws in the US were necessary because of financial crises and fraudulent activities over the years that needed to be addressed and reformed. Money makes people do crazy things! Here are just four of the US financial regulatory agencies financial services companies are bound by:
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): Created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market manipulation.
